Waking up to a fresh grid in NYT Connections can feel like a direct challenge to your morning coffee. Some days the words just click. Other days, you’re staring at sixteen squares wondering if the editor, Wyna Liu, is personally messing with you. For the August 12 puzzle, number 793, the difficulty curve is definitely real. Honestly, if you aren't familiar with Lower Manhattan, you might find yourself burning through those four mistakes faster than you’d like.
The beauty of this game lies in the overlap. It's never just about finding four words that match; it's about finding the only four words that don’t fit anywhere else. Today’s puzzle features a heavy dose of "Bowling" related words scattered across different categories, which is a classic distraction tactic.
NYT Connections Hints August 12
If you just want a little nudge without the full reveal, here are some directional hints to get your brain moving.
- Yellow: Think about the number ten. What things are defined by that specific count?
- Green: Imagine you are moving through a space. These are places where you have to stay within a specific "track" or "aisle."
- Blue: This one is very specific to geographical locations in the Big Apple, specifically downtown.
- Purple: Look at the physical objects. What do they all have in common when it comes to their structure? (Think: air or space passing through them).
Breaking Down the Difficulty
The game uses a color-coded system to rank difficulty: Yellow (straightforward), Green (easy-ish), Blue (medium), and Purple (tricky/wordplay).
In the August 12 grid, the Yellow category is actually pretty literal. If you can count to ten, you’re halfway there. Green and Blue are where things get sticky because of the "Bowling" theme. You’ll see "Bowling Alley," "Bowling Pins," "Bowling Green," and "Bowling Ball."
They don't go together. Not even a little bit.
🔗 Read more: Blox Fruit Current Stock: What Most People Get Wrong
If you try to group all the "Bowling" words together, you’ll see the "One Away" message and feel that pang of frustration. This puzzle is a masterclass in the "Red Herring" technique.
The Categories for August 12
Here is how the groups actually shake out:
Yellow: Groups of Ten
This is the easiest set. Every word here refers to a set of ten items or a ten-year span.
- Bowling Pins (A full rack)
- Commandments (The biblical set)
- Decade (Ten years)
- Fingers (Standard human equipment)
Green: Places with Lanes
Think about where you find yourself guided by parallel lines.
- Bowling Alley (The lane where the ball rolls)
- Highway (Traffic lanes)
- Supermarket (Check-out or grocery aisles)
- Swimming Pool (Divided lap lanes)
Blue: Landmarks in Downtown NYC
This is the "expert" knowledge category. If you haven't spent time in Manhattan, "Bowling Green" might sound like a lawn sport, but it's actually the city's oldest public park.
💡 You might also like: Why the Yakuza 0 Miracle in Maharaja Quest is the Peak of Sega Storytelling
- Bowling Green (Near the Charging Bull)
- Brooklyn Bridge (Connects Manhattan to Brooklyn)
- City Hall (The seat of local government)
- Wall Street (The financial heart)
Purple: Things with Holes
This is the most abstract. It requires looking at the physical properties of the items rather than their definitions.
- Bowling Ball (Finger holes)
- Colander (Straining holes)
- Golf Course (18 of 'em)
- Sponge (Porous holes)
Strategy Tips for Future Puzzles
Don't just click the first four words you see. Most experts recommend scanning the entire board for "link words"—words that could fit into two or more categories. In this August 12 puzzle, the word "Bowling" was the ultimate link word.
When you see a pattern like that, ignore it.
Try to find the category that has no overlap. Usually, that’s the Purple or Blue one if you can spot the wordplay early. For instance, "Colander" and "Sponge" almost always point to something about texture or holes. Once you isolate those, the rest of the board starts to breathe.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest trap on August 12 was "City Hall." Many players assumed "City Hall" was too generic—every city has one! But in the context of the New York Times, they frequently lean into their hometown geography. If you see "Wall Street" and "Brooklyn Bridge," you have to pivot your mindset to NYC specifically.
📖 Related: Minecraft Cool and Easy Houses: Why Most Players Build the Wrong Way
Another common slip-up was trying to put "Bowling Ball" with "Bowling Pins." It feels right. It makes sense in the real world. But in Connections, it’s a death trap.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Game
To improve your success rate, try the "Shuffle" button. Sometimes our eyes get locked into a specific grid layout and we can't see the words outside of their neighbors. Shuffling forces your brain to re-evaluate the words as individual units. Also, if you’re down to your last mistake, stop. Walk away for ten minutes. The "Aha!" moment usually happens when you aren't staring directly at the screen.
Focus on identifying the most unique word on the board first. Today, that was "Colander" or "Decade." Use those as your anchors. If you can find the three partners for the weirdest word, the house of cards usually falls in your favor.
Stick to a process of elimination rather than a process of "guessing what fits." It’s a logic puzzle disguised as a vocabulary test. Treat it like one.